254 
On the Agricultural Geology of the Weald. 
between Guildford and the Weald ; tlirough it run the Surrey 
and Sussex Canal, the railway from Guildford to Horsham, and 
the turnpike-road from Guildford ; the last divides into two on 
reaching the open Weald Clay countrj'. Over the lower country, 
near the Wey, about Godalming, there is a good deal of fertile 
loamy land on the Hythe Beds, but the southern and higher 
portion still retains its sterile character. This sterility reaches 
its maximum on the high-land of Hindhead, the summit of 
which is 894 feet. Here there is little but fern, furze, and 
heath, with some plantations. A farmer, looking merely 
to the apparent value of the soil, might be inclined to share 
Cobbett's opinion of these " rascally heaths." To Hindhead he 
had a very strong aversion, declaring it to be " certainly the 
most villainous spot that God ever made. Our ancestors do, 
indeed, seem to have ascribed its formation to another power ; 
for the most celebrated part of it is called the ' Devil's Punch 
Bowl.' " * 
Although these heaths are, for agricultural purposes, of small 
account, yet for wild beauty they are unequalled by any district 
within easy reach of London, Very extensive views are obtained 
from high points near the crest of the escarpment, which, 
being of greater height than the Chalk escarpment, allows the 
entire width of the valley of the Thames to be seen. The view 
from Leith Hill embraces at least eleven counties, and extends 
as far north as Dunstable Downs, forty-nine miles distant in a 
direct line. 
In tracing the Hythe Beds southward towards Petersfield, and 
then eastward through Sussex, the character of the land remains 
for a while much the same. The lower part of the division, that 
which occurs nearest the escarpment and forms the highest 
ground, is least productive ; the subsoil is chiefly of sand and 
sandstone. Towards Petworth, however, the beds become slightly 
more calcareous, and, apparently in consequence thereof, the land 
more fertile. Thus, whilst the upper sands, or Folkestone Beds, 
still retain their partially sterile character, the lower division 
improves in an easterly direction. 
Just west of the river Adur the Greensand country makes a 
curious recession towards the Chalk, the shape of which will be 
best understood by referring to the map, remembering that the 
Weald Clay forms low ground, and that the Lower Greensand 
is characterized by hills, which are here of less height than 
usual. 
From near the London and Brighton Railway, eastward, the 
* 'Kural Kides.' 1830, p. 66. This volume contains a great deal of informa- 
tion concerning the agriculture of the Weald. 
* 
